Food and drink

From Shandy to Chelada: These are different recipes to ruin a beer

When the summer heat sets in many seek to cool off with a refreshing drink. For some, that comes in the form of a ‘beertail’ mixed drink.

Greg Heilman

Update: May 24th, 2025 12:33 EDT

Summer is approaching which means that we can finally enjoy our backyards once again with barbeques, games or just lazing around soaking in the warm weather. The summer heat though can cause quite a thirst for a cool refreshing drink like an ice-cold beer.

Since beer isn’t everybody’s cup of tea but they want something to drink with a little bit of a kick but not that of a cocktail, some have gotten a bit creative with adulterating the flavor of the sudsy drink. Here’s a look at some beer-based mixed drinks, or ‘beertails’.

From Shandy to Chelada

While an ice-cold beer can be refreshing by itself, adding a bit of citrus flavor can dress up your brewski.

Shandy

Franz Kugler, a Bavarian tavern owner, is credited with creating the Shandy in 1922 when a group of thirsty cyclists began draining his beer supply. In order to stretch his dwindling stocks, he added citrus soda and the drink is now a common feature in summer under the name Radler, or ‘cyclist’ in German.

Others trace the history of the Shandy back even further to 1850s England. Originally called the Shandygaff, it was a mixture of ginger ale or ginger beer with beer. However, nowadays the mixture uses lemonade and beer instead and the ‘gaff’ has been dropped.

The basic mixture is half lemonade and half beer, and you can add a slice of lemon to decorate.

Chelada

The Chelada is similar to the Shady but instead of lemon, the citrus fruit of choice is lime. Think of a Corona with a slice of lime, but this drink calls for the juice from a whole lime, plus another one cut into wedges.

Put some ice into a pint glass, pour in the juice and wedges and add an ice-cold lager or pilsner. To spice things up you can also decorate the rim in Tajin seasoning, or just salt like a margarita.

Lagerita

Speaking of margaritas, why not wed one with your beer to make a Lagerita? On Milwaukee recommends using a light lager rather than an IPA or darker beer to avoid overpowering the other flavors.

Beermosa

Not a big fan a champagne but craving a Mimosa? Try a Beermosa! On Milwaukee recommends going with the champagne of beers, Miller High Life, for this one. Two parts beer and one part orange juice and add a few dashes of Bittercube orange bitters for best results.